Studenten - Festivities Continue

Studenten - Festivities Continue

My granddaughter Pallavi school graduated on June 12 and I wrote about the grand ceremony in this blog. The festivities continued. The proud parents of Pallavi, Anju and Naresh, hosted a Reception Dinner on June 14 at a dignified venue, Restaurang Foodie, at Kista in Stockholm, silicon valley of Sweden. It was a good fun and a befitting occasion to felicitate, congratulate and bless Pallavi in the gracious

company of friends and well-wishers. Like me, the grand- maternal-parents of Pallavi, Bimlaji and Ram Saran Sahib along with their family, specially came from India to join the family in these happy moments of life. It was all the more pleasure to meet my old friends in Stockholm whom Anju and Naresh invited thoughtfully and also their well cultivated and nurtured band of young friends. It is a matter of great satisfaction for a parent to see their children doing well and living with dignity and respect while earning their bread and butter. It was also a matter of gratification that Indian community was much better of and was contributing positively to the development and progress of their host country, beautiful Sweden, in the process of making their livelihood.

The evening was full with fun and joy. The young crowd, friends of Pallavi and my grandson Arvind, were in real jubilant mood in the spirit of traditional studenten song “Happy days of youthful abandon”. Variety of drinks flowed smoothly along with an assortment of snacks. The formal part of the function was nicely anchored by vivacious Alisha and overwhelmed Arvind and was kicked off by an outpouring of brotherly emotions for his sister Pallavi. Naresh and Anju welcomed the guests and blessed Pallavi with choked voice with emotion and rightly so. The young DJ, a school friend of Pallavi and appropriately named as “Laddu” played sweet and entertaining music. Baby Ashmit, a budding dancer, took the floor and won laurels from the audience.  Ram Saran Sahib accompanied by Anju, hidden talent of the family, contributed a great deal to add to emotional but joyous mood of the evening with songs - Oh Bhappe na sarma, koi japphi shappi pa and Mubarak ho sab ko sama yeh suhana. Pallavi stood with me to deliver vote of thanks which turned out to be ‘outpouring of emotions’ with

wet eyes in the company of our old friends circa early 1990s when I was posted the Embassy of India in course of my diplomatic career and friends and associates of Naresh and Anju, a youthful and sincere lot good people. Taking the opportunity to advice Pallavi and her young friends present in the party, I quoted a befitting homely, “There is no elevator to success, one has to take the stairs” and concluded with inspirational Urdu poetry:

मेरे अल्ला बुराई से बचाना मुझको,

नेक जो राह है उसपे चलाना मुझको!

अपना मुकदर आप बनाते हैं अहले दिल,

हम वह नहीं जीने ज़माना बना गया!

Friends of Pallavi, young and spirited teenage boys and girls, danced on a Hindi filmy song and invited the eagerly waiting gracious and gorgeous ladies along with their partners to join them and set the floor on fire with their dance, Bhangra and Gidda, on the toe taping music of DJ Laddu. The party headed towards conclusion with the serving of a well laid out dinner. Thanks Anju and Naresh for hosting a nice and enjoyable evening on the big day of Pallavi. God bless you. I will like to take the opportunity to thank our old friend Param who made all arrangements of hospitality at the party under the banner of his company - Asha Caterers and Event Managers, an outfit successfully operating not only in Sweden but also in other neighbouring countries of Scandinavia.

It is a studenten season in Sweden. Ever since I landed in Stockholm on June 6, apart from Pallavi’s studenten celebrations, I enjoyed the lovely studenten parties of close friends of Anju and Naresh - Sonali daughter of  Ajay Pal and Puneet son of Inderpal Singh, both successful businessmen in Sweden by the their own right. Tomorrow, June 16, we will join the studenten party of Aishwarya the daughter of yet another close friend of our family, Vijay Gupta, a highly placed professional in biotechnology living in a beautiful town Uppsala, some 60 kms. from Stockholm. It is a matter of satisfaction that the children of the Indian community were coming of age in good number as second generation and would positively add to the existing good profile of the community. The spectacle of Indian Tri-colour at the studenten celebrations in various schools was encouraging and gratifying.

Tailpiece: Incidentally, today, June 15,  we have entered 50th year of our married life - sweet and sour. Still we have miles to go. Greetings from Sweden.